THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy, and they turn out perfect every time! Start with an amazing peanut butter cookie recipe and add chocolate chips to take these cookies to the next level!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies have become a staple around my house since I discovered this recipe. I know, I know. Everyone says that their cookie recipe is the best and that doesn’t always mean much, but I promise that this is the BEST peanut butter cookie recipe you have ever tried. I can say this because I have tried dozens and dozens of peanut butter cookie recipes and was never very excited about any of them. Until I tried this one. It seems like a lot of the peanut butter cookie recipes turn out really crumbly and dry. Not this one!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are not just my favorite Peanut Butter Cookies recipe, but my favorite cookie recipe. Period. It is really that good. Just try it! I always add chocolate chips to mine, but they are good without also…totally up to you! And call me strange, but I usually prefer mini chocolate chips to the regular sized ones. I think it’s because I actually prefer cookie dough to baked cookies, and I like just a hint of chocolate mixed with the cookie – I don’t like my cookie dough to be overshadowed by too much chocolate!

How do you make homemade peanut butter cookies?

Making homemade peanut butter cookies is easy! Here are a few tips to getting perfect cookies every time!

Make sure you use softened butter – DON’T melt it! One of the most common errors in cookie making is using butter that is either really cold and hard, or using butter that is too warm and melted. If you have time, just leave butter out on the counter for about 1-2 hours before making your cookies. If you are like me and don’t plan your cookie cravings that far in advance, just place the butter in your microwave and soften in 5 second intervals, being very careful to pull it out before it melts. I actually like to use the defrost setting on my microwave to soften butter- I don’t know the technical reasons behind it, but it seems to soften the butter more evenly and takes a little bit longer so I’m less likely to start melting it!

Most cookie recipes require that you mix the dry ingredients separately before adding the wet ingredients. This is an important step! And be sure not to over mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Just mix until combined and then stop!

Make sure to slightly press peanut butter cookies on the top with a fork before baking.

Why do peanut butter cookies always have fork marks on the top?

Peanut butter makes cookies more dense, so they need to be slightly flattened before baking so that they can cook more evenly. There is nothing worse than a cookie with burnt edges and a doughy middle! My kids like to help make the criss-cross pattern on the tops of the cookies, but if you don’t like the pattern, you can just use the back of a wooden spoon to slightly flatten the tops before placing the peanut butter cookies in the oven.

What are the ingredients in Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies?

1 cup peanut butter*

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

How do you make Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies?

With a hand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar and brown sugar until blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix together.

Stir in chocolate chips at this point if desired. Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets(I used parchment paper since my cookies tend to burn on my darker pans). Press each ball once with a fork.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375. Don’t overcook! These cookies are much better soft and just barely cooked all the way through! Enjoy!

*Every time I have made these cookies I have used a regular creamy peanut butter (like Jif or a store-brand alternative). Several readers have commented that the cookies do not turn out as well when using a natural peanut butter.

Can you freeze peanut butter cookies?

Peanut butter cookies are easily frozen, either before or after baking them. I prefer to form the cookie dough balls and freeze those so that I can pull them and bake them whenever I need them. This way the cookies will be warm and fresh every time!

To freeze the cookie dough, place the balls on wax paper on a cookie sheet and freeze for about 30-45 minutes. Then you can place all of the frozen cookie dough balls in an airtight container or Ziplock freezer bag. When you are ready to bake them, just pull them out and place on a cookie sheet, let them thaw for about 10-15 minutes and then bake as usual.

You can also freeze the cookies once they have been baked. Just make sure they have cooled all they way to room temperature and then place them in an airtight container in the freezer. I like to wrap them in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer bag or airtight container to make sure to prevent freezer burn. If stored properly, peanut butter cookies will stay good in the freezer for 2-3 months.

How do you keep peanut butter cookies soft and fresh?

If you don’t eat all the peanut butter cookies within the first day or two, you can keep them soft and fresh by placing half a slice of white bread with the cookies in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. Make sure the bag or container is sealed well. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread and stay softer for a longer amount of time this way!

Comments

I wouldn’t say these are the “best” pb choc chip cookies I’ve ever made but they are super easy to make and they are tasty! I would have loved even more peanut butter flavor but you definitely can taste the peanut butter! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂

I followed the recipe exactly and underbaked them and they came out dry, crumbly, and just not a pleasant tasting cookie. I wish I just stuck with my tractional peanut butter cookie recipe and tossed in chocolate chips. ????

These are my absolute favorite cookie of ALL time! I’ve always been a huge peanut butter/chocolate fan and the consistency of these cookies is incredible. I think these get made at least once a month at my house!

Made these yesterday for New Years, and they were perfect. Followed the recipe exactly except I did 3/4 cup creamy PB, and 1/4 cup Crunchy PB. I changed the oven temp. to 177C (350F), and baked for 13 mins. Did the first batch for 11 mins, and found them to be a little too underdone in the center (didn’t stop us from eating them though LOL). I have a convection oven & find the lower temp/longer cook works best for cookies. I was able to get 43 cookies out of this one batch.

Printed the recipe & will definitely be making these again. And again & again. Thanks for sharing & Happy New Year!!

I just made a batch of these delightful morsels my mouth is smiling . I kept a close eye on them while baking because soft and chewy was very important. After baking them I was reading a few comments and realized I had forgotten the milk Oh my must of been okay because I used extra large egg. Best of the Best yes indeed.

Everyone seems to think they have the BEST recipe. This is the BEST recipe. These cookies are amazing and I bake a lot. I used crunchy JIF as that’s my favorite and they turned out perfect. I rolled the dough with my hands and made balls, then dipped in sugar to give it a sweet crunch on top. So perfect, thanks for sharing this.